Currie, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Currie is the largest town and administrative centre of King Island, which lies in Bass Strait off the north-west tip of Tasmania. It sits just inland from a partly sheltered natural harbour on the island's west coast, where a lighthouse has stood since 1879, with the Southern Ocean beyond. The settlement was first known as Howie's Boat Harbour and was later renamed after Archibald Currie, a Melbourne shipowner connected with one of the many ships wrecked on this stormy coast. King Island became known as a graveyard of Bass Strait sailing ships, and Currie grew as a salvage and port town. Today it centres on beef and dairy cattle and a rock-lobster fishery.
Less advantaged than the national average
Currie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 20% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 929, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Currie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 766
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $1,242
- SEIFA score
- 929
- Coordinates
- -39.9257, 143.8522
Currie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Currie using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 29%, 29% of homes are rented, and 16% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 121 | 16% |
| Youth (15–24) | 54 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 187 | 24% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 181 | 24% |
| Seniors (65+) | 221 | 29% |
Share of the 764 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 131 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 84 | 25% |
| Rented | 95 | 29% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 302 | 92% |
| Townhouses & semis | 23 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 4 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 329 occupied private dwellings in Currie.
- Median weekly rent
- $200
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,083
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,724
- Median weekly personal income
- $837
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 112 (16%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 48 (7%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 22 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 250 (40%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.5%
- Employed full-time
- 219
- Employed part-time
- 139
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Currie
Where is Currie?
Currie is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Currie?
At the 2021 Census, Currie had a population of about 766.
Is Currie an advantaged area?
Currie has an ABS SEIFA score of 929, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 20 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 20% of Australian suburbs.
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